Drilling
a hole is usually a simple task. But when it comes to drilling a centered
hole in the end of a round workpiece, it's easy to be just a hair off.

So
I came up with this easy technique to center the holes perfectly, as
in the photo. Start by clamping a scrap to the table of the drill press,
as shown in Fig. 1. Then drill a counterbored hole to match the diameter
of the dowel (mine were 3/4"-dia.).

This way, when you slip the dowel into the counterbore, it's perfectly
centered under the tip of the drill bit. After installing a smaller
drill bit, it's a simple matter to drill a hole through the dowel, as
you can see in Fig. 2.

Note:To
keep the dowel from spinning, clamp a handscrew around it to hold it
in place.